Quantum Lock
by Avorsum
Summary: When the TARDIS is forced to land on an obscure alien world, the Doctor discovers a way of destroying one of the universe's deadliest races before they have even been created. But will he succeed? 10 & Martha, set between Blink & Utopia.
1. Prologue

A/N: Well, here it is, my first fanfic. I hope you all enjoy it. Any reviews, constructive criticism, etc. would be much appreciated.

Don't be put off by the abscence of any familiar characters in the prologue. They're all introduced in the first chapter. Also, while there isn't anything particularly graphic, explicit, etc. just yet, I'm not entirely sure how this is going to end, so I've rated it T just to be safe. It probably won't end up being rated anything higher than that anyway.

In addition, my thanks to Vella for a beta and lots of ideas.

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who; I am merely borrowing the idea for the purposes of writing this story. Which I believe is the whole point of fanfiction anyway.

Prologue-The Dream

_Well? … What do you think?_

The voice was soft, indeterminate. There was something about it that made it impossible to guess where it was coming from. To the girl, it seemed to reverberate gently around the back of her mind before merging with the sound of the breeze.

"I don't know…" She didn't know if she'd said that aloud or not. In this place it was difficult to be sure of anything. Her mind searched for a word to try and describe it, and for want of anything better decided upon 'city'.

The ruins had obviously been a city at one point, and quite a grand one at that. Now, however, the vast majority of the buildings lay in ruins, and the few that remained standing were simple, uninspiring constructions, houses probably. Curiously, everything seemed to be built from the same dull grey stone, giving the place a rather bland appearance. Only the sky seemed to hold any colour at all. It was a sort of watery blue-green colour, and laced with strange clouds that seemed to be every colour at once and yet completely white at the same time.

But that wasn't what held her attention at that precise moment. Her sole interest and concern at the present time was the temple.

Its most striking aspect was its size. It towered over everything else around it, its many spires seeming to pierce the multi-hued sky above. It looked to her eye to be unimaginably old, yet had quite clearly been magnificent in its time. She still thought it was quite atmospheric now; in fact, she got the distinct impression that the other buildings were almost shrinking in its presence.

The girl stumbled, and realized that she had somehow begun to walk up the uneven steps to the entrance. She stopped.

"It looks unsafe…" Again, not sure if she'd actually spoken or not. The voice seemed to hear her regardless.

_But you have to go inside. There is something I need to show you._

Despite her better judgement, she felt oddly compelled to fulfil the voice's request. Besides, she thought it had sounded just slightly pleading, desperate almost.

She looked back towards the entrance and continued her ascent. The splintered remains of what must once have been an impressive wooden doorway now hung at a strange angle from huge stone hinges. A few broken splinters were still scattered on the ground. They clicked gently against the floor as she stepped over them, one occasionally snagging on the hem of her dress. Brown and withered leaves drifted gently from the dead trees flanking the steps, like rotting snowflakes.

_Look through the door. What do you see?_

She peered intently, but the space beyond the entrance was enveloped in darkness. Was there something there?

_Look closer._

She continued to stare, and her vision tunnelled until the surroundings faded and all she could see was the doorway. The broken shards of wood hanging from the hinges swung uneasily in the breeze, emitting a low groaning sound. The trees rattled and a few dead leaves danced across the floor behind her. As her vision continued to narrow, the door seemed to yawn wider, giving the unsettling impression that it was moving towards her. The splinters looked a lot like teeth, she thought.

_Keep looking._

Then she found it.

There was something inside. It was too dark to see it, but she knew it was there. And it was looking right at her.

Startled, she broke eye contact and looked back up towards the door. It _had_ moved closer, she noticed. It was _still_ moving closer. And then it was a snake, rushing towards her, its mouth gaping, fangs bared.

She didn't have time to scream before everything went black.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: You see, it is a Doctor Who fanfic. As always, any reviews and constructive criticism welcomed.

Chapter 1

Martha Jones jerked awake, rolled straight out of her bunk and landed painfully on the floor. She lay there for several moments, trying to recall what had just happened. Failing to remember anything, she decided that it was just a nightmare before unsteadily pushing herself to her feet.

Her berth on the TARDIS was small, containing little more than a bed, a wardrobe and a toilet, but it was comfortable, and more than adequate in her opinion. She leaned against the wall, peeling her sweat-soaked shirt away from her back. She'd found the shirt, along with some loose-fitting trousers, in the TARDIS wardrobe and now kept them specifically for sleeping in. Not that she ever got much chance to sleep.

She quickly checked herself over for possible injuries, almost without thinking. Upon discovering little more than a pounding headache and a few bruises, she again turned her attention to recalling the dream, only to be interrupted by a rhythmic clanging noise coming from the corridor outside. Before her sleep-dulled mind had a chance to register this, the door slid open and a man's face appeared in the entrance. With great difficulty, she forced her eyes to focus on him.

His hair was extremely ruffled, giving the impression that he'd just been standing on a windswept mountain summit admiring the view. He seemed to be sweating slightly, and his glasses looked like they might slide off his nose at any moment. He pushed them back into position before smiling at her warmly.

"Alright?" asked the Doctor. Martha guessed he'd heard her fall and had just sprinted here from the TARDIS' control room.

"Yeah… I'm fine." She spoke steadily, her brain trying to remember how her mouth worked. "It was just a dream…"

The Doctor's expression changed. He looked at her quizzically, with just a hint of scepticism. "A dream?"

"Well, more a nightmare actually," she admitted. "But it's nothing. I'm fine."

His expression shifted again. Was that… concern? Worry, even?

"What was it about?" he asked. He did sound concerned, she noticed.

"I… I don't really remember…"

"Anything at all?" he pressed.

"No… Oh, wait, yes. There was a snake."

"A _snake_? Is that it?" The concern seemed to have lifted slightly.

"Yep. Sorry, that's it."

"Oh, well that's alright then." He was suddenly cheerful again, and seemed to have lost all interest in whatever Martha's dream might have been about. "Don't you human doctors swear an oath over a snake or something?"

She wasn't surprised by his sudden change of direction. It always happened whenever he didn't want to talk about something. "Yeah, the Hippocratic Oath. You have to swear it before becoming a doctor." Even half-asleep, her mind still supplied her with knowledge from medical school almost automatically.

"Strange… Incidentally, did you know that humans are one of the few species in the known universe who dream?"

"Really?" She was genuinely surprised by that. But, now that she thought of it, it seemed to make sense. It was entirely possible for something to be alive and yet not dream.

"Oh yes," he replied, carried away by his enthusiasm now. "It's a strange, some would say pointless, ability, but I've always been fascinated by it. Anyway, I'd better go."

As he turned to leave, a thought struck Martha. "Doctor," she asked, "do you dream?"

He stopped instantly. He pushed his glasses up his nose again before turning to answer.

"…Sometimes." He paused again. "But I've never had a nightmare though. Shame really, I've always wondered what one feels like."

"Well they're not very nice, I assure you."

"Still… Anyway, like I said, must go." He pulled his sonic screwdriver from one of his many pockets and tossed it from hand to hand as he spoke. "One of the temporal landing stabilisers seems to have become depolarised."

"It's _what_?"

"Oh, sorry, yes. It's, errr… errrm…"

There was a loud bang and the room shook violently, sending Martha flying into the wall. She stumbled and fell onto the floor for the second time in as many minutes.

"Broken?" she suggested as she climbed to her feet again.

"Yep, that's the one!" He gave her a manic grin before racing out of the door, screwdriver in hand.

-----

She found him in one of the ship's many engine rooms, crouched over some monstrously complicated piece of machinery. The sonic screwdriver's blue tip whirred softly as he ran it over the side of a long, cylindrical tank. He noticed her reflection in the metal and looked up as she entered.

"Ah, so you're awake. No more bad dreams?"

"Nope."

"Good. Anyway, that's this fixed." He pocketed the screwdriver, stood up and kicked the tank. A burst of steam shot from a nearby valve, and a nearby piece of machinery began making strange noises. Martha suddenly noticed something.

"Doctor, isn't that a-"

"A scuba tank, yeah. Works quite well actually." He smiled at her.

"And that's-"

"An M.R.I. scanner. Bits of it, anyway. You'd think it was made to fit."

"And-"

"Bicycle pump," he interrupted again. Then he noticed her strange expression. "Hey, don't look at me like that! You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to get parts for a TARDIS these days. Especially since…" He looked away and ran his fingers through his hair before continuing. She knew what he'd been going to say. "Well… you know, I've had to improvise. Earth technology is the best I've found so far. Somehow it just…works."

"Yeah, but… a _bicycle pump_?"

Hs sighed and shook his head in mock exasperation. "Look… Oh, forget it, you wouldn't understand." He nodded his head towards a nearby door before walking towards it himself. "Come on."

"What are we doing now?"

"Deciding where and when to land, what else?" He looked back and grinned at her again. She sprinted after him eagerly.

-----

They spent the entire walk to the control room excitedly discussing the many destinations they had to choose from.

"What about some interesting period of Earth's history?" suggested Martha as they arrived at their destination. "We haven't been back to Earth in quite a while, so I was just thinking…"

"Well, I'm open to suggestions."

"I don't know… The Romans, perhaps, or the Greeks? Ancient Egypt? The Aztecs or Maya? Or how about-"

"Aha!" exclaimed the Doctor suddenly, making her jump.

"What is it?" she asked, feeling slightly worried.

"Han Dynasty China!" He exclaimed again. "One of the greatest civilisations of the ancient world!"

"Yeah, why not?" she said, relieved. She'd thought there'd been something wrong just then.

"You know the Chinese invented the helicopter?"

"You're kidding me."

"No, really. I got to test fly the prototype."

"How did that go?"

"Not too well… Hit a tree, actually. Complete write off. They never forgave me. Anyway, are we going or not?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Right then. I'll just set the contr-"

At that moment a deep, whirring sound began to fill the room. The Doctor stopped and listened. Then he spun around to face the main panel and noticed that the central green column was undulating gently.

"_What!?_"

"…Doctor?" Martha was genuinely worried now. "What's happening?"

"_WHAT!?_" he said again, staring at the column, not hearing her.

"Doctor?"

Without warning, he suddenly ran to the controls and began hammering at them frantically. "No, no, stop!"

"DOCTOR!"

He jumped. "What? Oh, sorry."

"What's happening?"

"It's the TARDIS. Looks like she's picked our destination for us."

"Must have got sick of us bickering."

The Doctor looked at her indignantly. "Hey, we weren't bickering! And besides, the TARDIS can't land herself. Unless…"

The noise gradually subsided as the TARDIS settled back into the normal flow of spacetime.

"Ah, we've arrived!" The Doctor seemed fairly happy in spite of what had just happened. He walked around the console to the external monitor. "Right then, let's see where we are!" He switched it on and a huge, childlike grin spread across his face. "Oh yes… brilliant! I've always wanted to come here!"

"Doctor, where are we?" said Martha uncertainly. She still wasn't quite sure what had just happened.

He nodded towards the door. "See for yourself. You're _so_ going to love this!"

She walked to the door uncertainly, and laid her fingers on the handle.

"Go on," he encouraged her. "I promise you you'll like it."

Taking a deep breath, she pulled open the door, looked outside and gasped.

A/N: As far as I'm aware, the ancient Chinese _did_ invent the helicopter, at least according to QI. Whether they succeeded in building one, I don't know. Either way, if you have any complaints about the historical accuracy of that particular reference, then take them up with Stephen Fry, not me.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks a lot for the reviews, keep them coming!

Also, thanks again to Vella for doing a beta on this (and chapter 1 for that matter; I forgot to mention it last time... sorry...).

Now would probably be a good time to point out that my initial disclaimer also applies to the whole story. Better safe than sorry, after all.

Finally, does anybody know how to insert section breaks? I've been denoting them with "-----" so far, but I think it'd definitely benefit from proper formatting.

Right, that's enough of that. Enjoy...

Chapter 2

Martha was about to step out of the door when she looked down and saw that there was nothing there. She cried out and tried to stop, only to overcompensate and fall backwards. Her flailing hand met with a guard rail, and she clung to it while her legs gradually stopped shaking and her panicked breathing slowed.

"Oh, yes, sorry, I forgot to mention that," said the Doctor, strolling over casually as though nothing had happened. "We're floating."

"But… why?" Martha managed to say, her voice still trembling slightly.

"Well there's no land, is there?" He gestured to the still open door. "See for yourself."

She looked again and noticed that he was right. The only thing visible as far as her gaze could reach was sky. And it was certainly one of the strangest skies she had ever seen.

Some distance below them (Hundreds of feet? Thousands?) was a thick, practically opaque layer of fog, red and rust-like in colour. The sky above this was watery and blue-greenish, sparsely interspersed with clouds. The clouds were the strangest part of the whole scene. When Martha looked at them directly they seemed almost impossibly white, but when she only just caught them in the corner of her eye they looked equally impossibly multicoloured. The Doctor had clearly noticed this phenomenon too, judging by the way he kept turning his head to one side and squinting.

"I don't know where we are," said Martha after a while, "but I'm guessing it isn't China."

"Nope. This," he said, somewhat melodramatically, "is Nebulous."

She glanced down at the red cloud layer again. "Very original name."

"Well, I suppose it is a bit on the obvious side," he admitted. "Even so, it's allegedly one of the strangest and most unique planets in this entire sector of the galaxy."

"And you've always wanted to come here?"

"Of course. How many other planets can you think of where you get hallucinogenic vapour condensing into clouds?"

"What?" Martha had visited some strange places in her travels with the Doctor, but she guessed that this place was about to surpass all of them.

"At least I'm guessing that's what it is. Nebulous is renowned for its strange atmosphere. And if I remember rightly, we learnt about such things back on Gallifrey. I even created something very similar once in one of the labs. Accidentally, of course," he added hastily, smiling at her. Then he seemed to notice what he'd just said and a distant look appeared in his eyes. He turned away.

Martha decided to change the subject. Besides, she'd just noticed something extremely obvious. "Doctor, if there's nowhere to land, then what are we going to do? I mean, we can't just float around up here all day, can we?"

She looked back at him, but he didn't seem to be paying attention. He was stood extremely still, head tilted to one side. His coat swayed gently in the breeze blowing through the door.

"Doctor?"

"Shhhhh!" he hissed at her. "Can't you hear it?"

She paused and listened. There was something. A low, rushing sound, a bit like a fast-moving car displacing air on a motorway. It was coming from somewhere outside.

"You think it's getting louder?" he asked hesitantly.

"I don't know…" She concentrated more intently.

A grin slowly spread across the Doctor's face. "It is, isn't it?" Without warning he sprinted to the door and looked out again.

Martha joined him. The roaring noise was definitely louder now, and becoming more so with every passing second. The wind outside was growing much stronger as well. She had to hold her hair back out of her eyes with one hand. Then the noise reached its apex, and one of the most bizarre sights she had ever seen soared into view. It took several seconds for it to even register in her mind.

Some distance away from the TARDIS flew a vast, manta ray-like creature, so impossibly huge as to defy most sentient beings' imaginations. At first she thought it must be artificial, but as it swerved gracefully and began to approach them she could tell that it was definitely alive; its blue fins rippled, its tail flicked, and its fang-rimmed mouth yawned, filtering the air through its cavernous throat. As it came closer still, her already astonished brain noticed that, against all reason, there was a city resting on its back.

It was a genuinely magnificent city, albeit quite small compared to some she'd seen. Martha was reminded of New New York crossed with what little she knew of Gallifrey from the Doctor's stories. Looking back to the sky, she saw that there were more mantas further in the distance, most of which also seemed to bear cities on their backs. Evidently the planet's population was significantly higher than she'd first anticipated.

"You asked where we were going to land?" said the Doctor at last. He continued when she didn't respond. "Ah, humans. Trust them to find the most ingenious way of inhabiting almost anywhere."

"…Humans live there?" Martha managed finally.

"Of course. Along with quite a few other species, obviously. You know, big multicultural sort of place. I've heard it's quite a popular tourist destination as well. …Anyway, enough hanging around up here." He pulled his sonic screwdriver from somewhere about his person, aimed it at the approaching manta and switched it on.

"Got it," he said after a few seconds. "Coordinates locked." He closed the door and went back to the console, Martha close behind. He then shoved the screwdriver into a port and pressed a few buttons, one of which looked like it had once belonged to a buzzer on a quiz show. Given the origins of some of the spare parts in the engine room, Martha reasoned, it might well have done. The screwdriver dutifully uploaded the coordinates into the main terminal and the TARDIS whirred as it briefly disengaged itself from the fabric of reality.

After the whirring had stopped, the Doctor gestured to the door. "Go on. After you. And I promise there's a floor this time," he added, seeing her expression.

Slightly less reluctantly this time, she opened the door and looked out. They were in the city itself, she guessed. She was looking down some sort of alleyway towards a bustling street. Overcome by curiosity, she stepped out and looked up at the buildings either side. They were made of some white, shining metal, and weren't quite as tall as they'd seemed from above, but they were no less impressive. From down here, she'd never have guessed that they were flying through the air on the back of some giant manta ray-like thing. It seemed almost… ordinary, if such a word could ever be applied to her travels with the Doctor.

The Time Lord himself soon joined her, locking the door behind him and pocketing the key. He wasted no time in making straight for the main street.

"Well?" He looked back at her. "Aren't you coming?"

"Of course." She followed him into the bustling crowd, hoping that for once their trip would be relatively peaceful. As she was soon to discover, it was going to be anything but.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: Finally, chapter 3's up. Sorry for the long wait; I've just returned from a _really_ _fun_ (yes, that is sarcasm) holiday, and have also been quite busy recently. And I'm a pretty slow writer, though I'm sure you'll agree that it's better to take time over something than to rush it and make a complete mess.

I don't think this chapter's particularly great myself; it just doesn't seem to flow properly. Then again I've always been far too critical of my own work (at least according to my old English teacher). Please let me know what you think of it. All reviews appreciated; I don't mind if they're harsh, provided they're constructive.

No beta this time, given that the only person nice enough to consent to checking this for me chose to go on holiday at _precisely_ the same time that I got back from mine.

Anyway, enough of me complaining. Enjoy.

Chapter 3

_Nebulous_

_Classification: gas giant, category 4A_

_Geology: N/A (see above)_

_Atmospheric composition: N/A (complex, see main text)_

_Population: 300 million sentient (various species)_

_Satellites: 14 moons, 9 distinct ring belts_

_Location: 4__th__ planet from the centre of star system 12C, 2__nd__ arm of spiral galaxy 496/3X, 8__th__ quadrant of…_

Martha lost interest at that point. It was far too technical, and even if she could have understood it, she doubted the classification system would be the same one used by Earth astronomers. Besides, all it did was remind her how far away from home she was, and that made her feel nervous. So she put the book to one side and lay back on the bed.

The Doctor had found the book, _A Traveller's Guide To Unique And Unusual Destinations, _in the TARDIS library and thought she might have liked it. Very few of the books in the TARDIS library were written in English, or indeed any human language, but fortunately the TARDIS' psychic field seemed to translate writing reasonably accurately, despite the Doctor's insistence that it was meant primarily for speech.

Martha rolled onto one side as she recalled what had happened so far. The Doctor, for some inexplicable reason determined to make the trip seem like a proper break, had decided that they should stay in a hotel. Excited by the prospect of finally experiencing an alien culture, she had agreed, but had to admit on reflection that it was a bit disappointing up to now. Still, it was quite a nice room.

The first thing the Doctor had done on arriving was to check the list of available rooms on display in the foyer.

"Ahh… very nice…" he had said, apparently to himself. "There's a first-class room free…"

"I'm sorry?" she had replied quizzically.

"Martha," he'd said, turning to her, "how would you like to stay in the first-class section? You know, right at the top?"

"Sure."

After that he'd gone strolling up to the check-in desk with his usual easy confidence.

"Excuse me… I believe I have a room booked."

"Very good, sir," replied the handsome, smartly-dressed human receptionist. "Your name, please?"

"Oh, Smith, John Smith. And this is my good friend Martha Jones. It's room 217."

The receptionist consulted a monitor behind the desk before speaking again.

"I'm afraid, sir, that I can't find your reservation on the system."

"What? Oh, yes, of course," the Doctor responded, making a show of seeming to forget. "I spoke to the manager earlier about that." He removed a blank piece of psychic paper from a pocket and offered it to the receptionist.

"Very well sir, this seems to be in order," he replied at length, holding the paper up to the light as he examined whatever wasn't written on it. "There is just one issue that I'd like to clarify first."

"Issue?"

"Yes, sir. The room you have booked contains human facilities, yet you are clearly not human, although your companion seems to be."

For one small moment the Doctor looked slightly thrown, surprised even. Then the moment passed.

"Well, human facilities will do me fine, thanks."

"As you wish, sir. I'll just clear it with the system. One moment please."

And that was how they'd got the room. Despite the problem with the facilities, she hadn't seen the Doctor use them yet. In fact the first thing he'd done was fall onto the bed, give out a huge sigh and start telling her about how great it was to be here. Then he'd gone out to get something to eat and left her with the book.

Of course, the book. Martha picked it up, skipped ahead to a section that looked interesting and resumed reading.

_Atmospheric Composition_

_(This section is a brief introductory overview. For a detailed chemical analysis of the composition, see the technical entry on page 598)_

_Nebulous' atmosphere is comprised of two or three distinct layers, each with markedly different properties. The first layer, stretching outwards from the core to a distance of approximately 20,000km, is made up of a highly dense layer of brown-red gas. Very little is known about its chemical composition, as all attempts to collect a sample for scientific study have thus far failed, for reasons which will become clear. What is certain is that it is one of the most corrosive substances known to modern science. It is capable of eating through the strongest modern materials (both metal alloys and organic plastic compounds) in seconds, and a method has yet to be found of containing it._

_Given these properties, it seems likely that the gas is a complex chemical, unlikely to occur without some processing. This has led some biologists to believe that there may be a form of life somewhere beneath the cloud layer that is responsible for the gas, although, given the low probability of anything surviving down there, this is currently pure speculation._

It wasn't sounding too pleasant so far, Martha had to admit. Interesting from a scientific point of view, certainly (she thought that might be one of the Doctor's reasons for wanting to come), but far from safe. She made a mental note to try and leave as soon as possible. Then again, on reflection, she realised that few of the places she'd visited so far could be described as 'safe'. She gave a resigned sigh and continued reading.

_The second layer extends from the top of the first for a further 1,000km. In sharp contrast to the layer below it, it is composed of a mixture of simple gases, such as oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, meaning that it is hospitable to a wide variety of organisms._

That was much better. Clearly the mantas and their accompanying cities were in the second layer, judging by the obvious fact that they weren't all dead.

_The third layer is far more unique than either of the previous two, and is described fully in the biology section._

Being a medical student, Martha had an interest in biology, and avidly flicked ahead. The next section listed the planet's major forms of life, with brief descriptions. There were even illustrations; Martha saw something that looked like a huge scaly jellyfish, and something else that resembled a lobster, except for the fact that it had many more claws. In fact, it appeared that most of the planet's creatures were similar to aquatic life back on Earth, and she guessed that the atmosphere must behave like water to some extent. She found the entry she was looking for and continued reading.

_Mantas_

_The Nebulous Greater Manta Ray (known colloquially as a manta) is a large grazing organism near the top of the planet's food chain. Their size varies, but dimensions of 10km length and 8km wingspan are typical. Being so large, they have no predators. They are filter-feeders, their diet consisting mainly of microscopic plankton that drifts in the atmosphere._

_The mechanism the mantas use to remain airborne is complex, but a simplified explanation is that they use their fins as aerofoils, similar to birds, in conjunction with a system of vessels running throughout the manta's body for directing air flow._

_One of the manta's most bizarre attributes is the fact that it excretes, from its dorsal vents (see diagram), a highly unusual gaseous substance. When first released, it is far too dilute to be noticeable, but as it rises through the atmosphere, it becomes denser, eventually forming clouds. It is these clouds that form the third atmospheric layer._

_In addition to its strange optical properties, this gas is also one of the most potent psychoactive drugs known, affecting virtually all sentient species, albeit to different extents. While the drug is physically harmless and non-addictive, it induces vivid, often terrifying hallucinations that can persist for several hours. Large amounts of the gas are frequently collected and sold to other nearby planetary systems, for medical research, interrogation etc._

Martha stopped reading, trying to take it in. On the whole, this place sounded very dangerous. Why had they come here? She recalled the Doctor mentioning something about the TARDIS choosing this place for them… but if that was true, why had it chosen here?

Martha suddenly felt nervous, but decided that there was nothing she could do at the present time. She resolved to simply tell the Doctor about her worries when he returned, and take it from there. Did he actually know about what was in this book? …But of course he did, he'd accidentally made some of that stuff in a lab once. Even so, she didn't like the sound of 'interrogation', and the way the book had just casually thrown it onto the page.

Anyway, thinking about it wouldn't get her anywhere. She picked up the book, skipped on a few pages and did her best to keep reading.

-----

Unnoticed to Martha, time was moving on, and the sun, larger and redder than back on Earth, was now beginning to set. Its beams passed through the impossibly coloured clouds, scattering into rainbow-hued shards that fell through the single large window and danced upon the furniture. The room was quite high up, so that the pinnacles of the other towers glinted outside like gigantic silver icicles. Had Martha looked down, she would have seen the main street, flowing with people, completely clear within the space of a few minutes. By the time the sun had touched the horizon, there was not a single soul left outside; like a severed blood vessel, the streets were now completely empty.

She had just finished the next entry when the Doctor returned.

"You took your time," she said, not accusingly.

"Yeah, sorry. You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find a decent place to eat here." He removed his overcoat and threw it onto his bed. "Besides, everyone went back inside a few minutes ago."

"What, _everyone_?" Martha was slightly disbelieving; the book had mentioned nothing about this.

"Yep. Everyone."

"Is there some sort of curfew here, or something? I wouldn't expect there to be in a utopia like this."

"Nope, don't think so. Strange really… nobody would explain it to me. The best I got was that I should get inside before 'they' find me."

Martha was puzzled, and more than slightly worried. "And who are 'they', exactly?"

The Doctor gave a noncommittal shrug and collapsed onto his bed. "No idea."

"Well, that's _very_ reassuring," she retorted, with a sarcasm that stemmed more from anxiety than anything else.

"Look, don't worry about it. None of the people I spoke to seemed scared. On the contrary, most were quite cheerful. Incidentally, the hotel café's still open if you want anything."

"Yeah… I might." She thought it might help calm her down a little. Besides, she hadn't eaten since leaving the TARDIS a few hours back. "By the way… I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"You know how dangerous this place is, right? Because according to this book, it seems very dangerous." She hoped that her voice conveyed some of her sense of worry. Evidently it did, for the Doctor smiled warmly at her before replying.

"Oh, don't worry about that; it was written years ago, long before that hallucinogenic gas was outlawed."

"They passed a law against it?"

"Yep. You can't even collect the stuff now."

"Thanks. I feel a bit better for that." He simply smiled in response.

She got up and stowed the book under her bed. "I'll take the door keycard, shall I?"

"Yep. See you later."

-----

Martha ordered the first thing she found on the menu, which turned out to be a strange drink that tasted like a mixture of coke, orange juice and tea. Glancing outside, she saw that the streets were completely black. No power was being wasted on external artificial lighting. It made sense, she supposed, since everyone was inside, but still, the effect was unnerving. More than once she got the impression that she was being watched through the window, and kept glancing over her shoulder only to see that there was nothing there.

Or was there? She could have sworn that she saw something moving once. She peered deeper into the blackness, and then deeper still, until she could almost make something out, and then-

(_and then it was a snake)_

Martha blinked and looked away. Where had that come from? …Of course, the dream. She'd had a dream about a snake last night. But why remember it then, of all times? Curious.

The waitress returned for the bill and Martha took the opportunity to ask her who 'they' were. The waitress simply looked embarrassed and hurried away. She saw now what the Doctor meant.

Now that she thought of it, she decided she'd better get back to the Doctor. He must be wondering where she was.

Leaving the café, Martha glanced out of the window one last time. But nothing was visible except the silhouette of the decorative fountain, the winged statue on its apex standing silently over the main square.


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Well, here's chapter 4. Hopefully the plot should be picking up by now. I would have posted this sooner, but I've recently been on a spending spree in a second-hand bookshop and have spent the past few days reading everything I bought (Please don't tell me to get a life. I've already tried. It didn't work).

As far as reviews are concerned, my attitude has not changed (Actually I just can't be bothered to type the same thing out again. You'll know what I mean if you've read this far anyway).

Also, my apologies for any spelling errors. I've checked it myself, but as I've already mentioned my beta reader stubbornly insists on being on holiday, and they're easy to miss (what with English spelling being such a nightmare; arguably it's even worse than French).

Chapter 4

She stood before the temple once again, dead leaves dancing across the rocky ground, cold stone buildings on all sides of her. The snake had gone, and the door was now just a door, the splintered planks hanging from metal hinges either side of it. The darkness beyond was now completely absolute, and it was impossible to determine anything within, no matter how intently she peered.

_Go on. Don't be deterred._

The voice had returned as well, and again she felt somehow compelled to obey it. Slowly she began walking. This time she took care to avoid the splinters scattered in front of the entrance from when the door had been torn open, for fear that someone or something might overhear her. As the entrance loomed closer, a cloud drifted in front of one of the sky's many moons. It acted like a prism, splitting the light and scattering the fragments across the huge stone walls of the temple.

_Keep going._

Not for the first time she wondered where she was. Now she came to think of it, the sky was actually quite beautiful, and yet the city below it was a place of total desolation. What had happened here? Had the people of this city just died out over time? Had there been a war? Disease perhaps, or famine?

_That's it. Almost there._

The entrance was before her, specks of coloured light sliding across the ground beneath her feet as she continued walking. Then they were gone, the doorway sweeping over her and blotting out the sky. She shivered involuntarily as the darkness engulfed her.

_Good. Look closely._

She tried, but the blackness seeped across her vision and obscured it, like spilled ink on a page of text. No, wait… there was something. As she stepped forward, it became clearer, until it eventually resolved itself fully.

She seemed to be standing in a vast hallway, somehow more huge than apparently possible from the building's outside dimensions. Some distance ahead, light was pouring in through a hole in the ceiling, which was held half a mile above her head by great columns large enough to be buildings in themselves. The light shone on some sort of structure, smaller than the columns and directly beneath the hole.

_Go on. Go closer._

She did. The light was some way ahead, giving the appearance that it was never actually getting any nearer. The rest of the room was too dark to see any sort of detail, though she could tell that the floor was extremely smooth and made of stone, like practically everything else.

After what felt like years, but could have been no time at all, she reached the edge of the pool of light.

An obelisk stood in the middle, tall and angular, and so black that it appeared to almost swallow any light falling on it. It looked not so much to be made of stone as some form of black crystal. Spots of colour from the clouds outside drifted ghost-like across the floor, giving the impression that it was standing in a pool of oily water. There was a mystical air to it; she was suddenly struck by the desire to know exactly what it was.

"What is it?" The nervousness in her own voice surprised her.

_It is what you have come here to see._

"But why?"

_Because you must know about it… and about us._

"You aren't answering my questions." There was no accusatory tone in her voice; it was a mere statement of fact.

_Look around you._

She looked, but the rest of the room, as before, was as black as ever. She could just see the outlines of the columns around her. The sound of the wind outside was still barely audible, and…

Another sound, from inside, one that had definitely not been there a few seconds ago. The more she listened, the more it sounded like… crying?

_This place in which you now stand used to be one of the greatest civilizations known. Yet now it stands in ruins. Have you ever wondered why?_

"Yes…"

_The answer is simple. It is we, and we alone, who are to blame for this._

"And who are you?" There was definitely the sound of someone weeping now. She glanced around in vain to try and find where it was coming from.

_Those who must be saved._

"From what?"

_Look back._

She turned towards the obelisk again and froze.

If it wasn't for the slight inclination in the back of her mind that this was a dream, she would have turned and ran. As it was, she just stood there, gaping.

A statue, of the same stone as the buildings, now stood before the obelisk. It depicted a winged, humanoid figure, covering its eyes with its hands, as though crying. All other details of its appearance were lost on her as she focused on the thin rivulets of dark liquid seeping between the fingers and scoring red lines down the forearms. One of them reached the elbow, where it blossomed into a droplet of what could only be blood and fell, gleaming in the moonlight, where it hit the floor and spread into a little pool, and she could see her face reflected in it-

She turned and fled, then screamed as something heavy slammed into her from behind, knocking her to the floor. She tried to push herself up, but something hard and bloodstained was closing around her neck-

-----

Martha Jones rolled out of bed and hit the floor, hard. She desperately tried to get to her feet, but something heavy fell on her and pinned her down. In blind panic, she brought her elbow back sharply and connected with something soft. There was a snapping noise.

"Ouch!" said the something.

…That wasn't right. Instead of breaking her arm on cold stone, as she'd expected, she'd hit something much softer. As the thing rolled off her back, it dawned on her that she was laying on carpet. So she wasn't in the temple…

Now why had she just thought that? She didn't recollect ever being in a temple, so why just think about not being in one? Odd…

She got up in what was very definitely a hotel room and turned to face the something, which was now very definitely the Doctor. He was wearing a set of stripy blue pyjamas, and holding a twisted piece of metal in one hand.

"You broke my glasses…" He said slowly.

"How?" she asked, although she thought she knew already.

"You hit me," he mumbled, still not quite awake. "I rolled out of bed and landed on you, and you hit me!" He sounded only vaguely surprised.

"Sorry!" she said hastily. "It's just I thought you were a… a…"

"A what, exactly?"

"I… I don't remember…" She looked back at him and saw he was wearing the same expression he had worn when he'd heard about her first dream.

"What were you doing on the floor, anyway?" he asked.

"I'd had another nightmare… I think. I must've fallen out of bed."

"Odd… Very odd…" His eyes had glazed over and he seemed to be thinking.

"What's odd?"

"That I should happen to have a nightmare at almost exactly the same time, fall out of the other bed a split second later, and land on top of you…"

"YOU had a nightmare too?"

"Yep. And even though we don't seem to be able to remember it, I'd bet my sonic screwdriver that we both had exactly the same dream." That was quite a strong bet coming from the Doctor.

He remained seated on the floor for some time, mumbling to himself. She sat next to him, watching.

"In fact it's more than odd. What would you call something that's more than odd? Would it just be a capital 'ODD'? Or would it be 'odddd', with an extra long 'd'? Or is it…"

This line of thought seemed to keep him entertained for quite a while. Martha knew better than to interrupt. She reminded herself in a way of Watson, waiting in the dark while Holmes juggled the facts in his mind, only revealing them to his companion once he'd slotted them together. But then he might not have heard of Sherlock Holmes. It was difficult to tell with the Doctor.

"…or would it be 'ood'? Nope, course not. Hang on a sec…" He lapsed into silence.

Martha was getting impatient now.

"Are we quite finished?"

But he didn't reply. Then something seemed to dawn on him and all traces of tiredness vanished from his face. His eyes widened and a huge grin crept slowly onto his mouth like treacle.

"Aha! Gotcha!" he exclaimed, making Martha jump. He sprang to his feet and opened the top drawer of the bedside table, within which was the sonic screwdriver and, surprisingly, a copy of the Bible. He frowned at the book before taking the screwdriver. It glowed blue and whirred as he ran it around the room.

"Just as I thought."

"What is? What's going on here?" Martha was completely lost now.

"I'll explain later." He grabbed his clothes and a spare pair of glasses and headed for the bathroom. "Martha, get changed. We're going out." The bathroom door slammed and locked behind him.

She closed the curtains, noting that the sun was only just starting to rise, and quickly pulled on a new set of clothes. She had barely finished before there was a knock on the door. She ignored it, thinking that the Doctor would be better qualified to handle whoever might be calling. The visitor knocked again, somewhat impatiently this time.

"Martha, get that, will you?" came a voice from the bathroom.

Reluctantly, she obliged, approaching the door and checking through the peephole.

Their visitor was a cat person. Martha sighed with relief; if it had been anything else other than human, she might not have been able to cope. But she could just about manage cat people, having encountered them once before in New New York.

She cracked the door open, leaving the chain in place.

"Is this the room of the Doctor?" The visitor's voice was somewhat official-sounding, haughty even, as if it was used to issuing orders to practically everyone the speaker met.

"Errr…" She struggled to think of anything to say. The visitor peered at her intently.

The bathroom door swung ajar and the Doctor's face appeared. He mouthed something at her and shook his head before vanishing again.

"Errrm, no, sorry, you've got the wrong room," she managed. "This is the room of Mr. John Smith."

"Ah, I see. My sincerest apologies for troubling you… But then again, you are not Mr. Smith, are you?" came the reply, softly. It was difficult for Martha to tell with cat people, but going purely on the pitch of the voice this one seemed to be female. She was wearing a neat grey uniform with black boots and gloves. Around her torso was a tunic embroidered with an image of a snake. The whole outfit suggested that its wearer occupied some sort of high ranking position. The fur covering her face matched the uniform so perfectly in colour that it was difficult to tell where its collar ended and her neck began.

"Um, no. I'm his companion, Martha Jones."

"I see…" she purred, eyeing Martha suspiciously, the unnerving effect only enhanced by the slitted pupils rimmed in yellow. "And this is a… holiday of sorts, is it, Ms. Jones?"

Martha felt as though she was quickly losing some sort of battle. "Yeah, I suppose. You know, we've just come to see the sights, that sort of thing."

"Is that so?"

Much to her relief, the Doctor chose this moment to emerge from the bathroom, now fully changed.

"Well? Don't just stand there, Martha. It's only polite to invite them inside."

She removed the chain, allowing the door to swing open fully.

"Ah," said the Doctor as he caught sight of their guest. "Please, come in. I'm John Smith, by the way. I take it you've met my friend Martha?"

The cat woman was not so easily thrown. She remained firmly in the entranceway.

"Very amusing, Doctor," she said dryly. "Now if you'd care to drop the act, I've been attempting to locate you ever since you arrived and have little patience left."

"I'm sorry, but I haven't heard of this Doctor person at all," he replied, feigning confusion. "I've little to offer you, I'm afraid, but will you at least let me get you a drink before you go?"

She scowled at him, before her gaze jumped to a small object lying on the table.

"I have to say, Mr. Smith," she said, in a voice like silk, "I never knew sonic screwdrivers were so widely available these days. The last time I checked they were manufactured exclusively in the Gallifrey system, which would, of course, have been obliterated quite some time ago. That being the case, they should now be extremely rare, which leaves me wondering where you obtained yours, Mr. Smith. Or am I mistaken?"

The Doctor, who had just opened the curtains to admire the view, stopped as he allowed the full implications of the remark to sink in. An expression of what was best described as anger came across his face. He permitted it to linger there for several seconds before forcing a smile that perfectly hid his offence and turning back to her. _So be it_, he thought, _if that's how you want to do things._

"Aw, why can everyone always tell?" he whined, like a child who continually sets up mischievous pranks only to keep having them spoiled. "First that receptionist, then you."

"You are the Doctor, then?" She raised a furry, inquiring eyebrow.

"I thought you knew that already. That's why you're here, isn't it?" He pocketed the offending screwdriver, mentally adding 'blowing your cover' to its list of functions.

"But of course."

"Now, since we've all finally decided who I'm meant to be, I'd very much like to know who you are."

She looked a little affronted, but answered anyway.

"I am Valesia, chief navigational officer and third in command of city 14."

"Is that so? No second name then?"

"No. That is one human custom we don't follow. Don't look so surprised, Doctor," she added, on seeing his expression. "After all, you don't have a second name either."

Martha, who had been watching this exchange bemusedly, saw that same angry look flash across the Doctor's face again. Then it was gone, and she may as well have imagined it.

"No," he said, at length. "You're right there. You did say you were third in command? Of the whole city?"

"That's correct."

"You should have given us word earlier. If I'd known we were going to have such distinguished company, I'd have worn something nicer." He gestured to his now fairly tattered jacket.

For the first time their visitor smiled. It did not extend to her eyes.

"It's quite curious that you should mention that," she said, "for it brings me quite neatly to the purpose of my visit."

"Does it now?" He began to polish his spare glasses absent-mindedly. "And what would that be then?"

In response the chief navigator pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and unrolled it. Martha noticed that her gloves had small holes in the ends of the fingers, presumably for her claws.

Valesia cleared her throat before reading from the paper in her most authoritative voice.

"'Dearest Doctor, you are upon this day invited to attend an audience with the captain of this great and noble city-'"

"_What_?" The Doctor looked completely thrown.

"Don't worry," the third in command said, misinterpreting him. "You aren't an honoured guest of the city, if that's what you think. The captain merely wishes to discuss a business proposition with you."

"Well what could they possibly want with me? I was only passing by. In fact I wouldn't have dropped in at all if the TARDIS hadn't been having one of her bad days…"

"I must confess her motives remain unclear to me, having not proved myself worthy of her confidence; nevertheless, it is my duty to see that you attend." She rolled the paper up with a soft scratching noise and replaced it in her pocket.

The Doctor considered the situation briefly. "Errr… Sorry."

"For what?"

"I'm afraid I won't be able to come to your little meeting. Stuff to do, places to go, you know the sort of thing. Besides, I was hoping to have a little look around here first. Bit of a holiday, you see."

"Well…" Valesia smiled icily. "…I'm very sorry to hear that. I was hoping that a bit of persuasion wouldn't be necessary. Evidently I was mistaken."

"Doctor…" Martha quavered.

The Doctor, who had been restlessly pacing the room, now turned back to the door. The chief navigator had been joined by two other high-ranking officers, who had presumably been hiding in the corridor. All three of them were holding guns.

"Yes…" he said slowly. "That is quite persuading, isn't it?" He wondered if they knew about regeneration. He decided not to risk it.

"This girl is your companion, you say?" the feline voice pressed.

"Yep," said the Doctor, and immediately regretted it. All three guns turned to point at Martha, who looked panic-stricken.

"Well that solves the regeneration problem rather neatly, doesn't it?" She gave him the sort of look that lesser-evolved felines normally reserved for trapped mice.

"Alright then, since you ask so nicely." He didn't seem to have any other option. "But Martha comes too," he added, in a very serious tone. "I'm not leaving her here."

"As you wish. If I may say so Doctor, it was most naïve of you to think that you ever had a choice."

He thought back to how the TARDIS had seemingly chosen their destination for them. "Yeah… you could say that."

She stepped back from the door and gestured down the corridor with her free hand. _Or should that be paw?_ thought Martha. "Well?" she purred, suddenly polite again. "Shall we?"

"By all means," replied the Doctor, equally politely. As he made towards the door he looked back over his shoulder at Martha, smiled as widely as he could, and winked at her.

Martha followed. There didn't seem to be any alternative.


End file.
